Self-wringing mop



Dec. 22; 1942 v. K. COOPER 2,306,249

SELF-WRINGING M)OP Filed Nov. 25, 1940 2 Sheets-sheaf. 2

/0 2a as I ATTORNEY.

Patenteol Dec. 22, 1942 UNi'lED. STATES PTNT OFFICE SELF-WRINGIN G MOP Virgil K. Cooper, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Cooper Corporation, a corporation of California Application November 23, 1940, Serial No. 366,836

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-119) My invention relates generally to mops, and more particularly to an improved type of selfwringing mop.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 264,765, filed March 29, 1939, I have disclosed a self-wringing mop which possesses many advantages over previously known types of mops. However, I have now developed certain improvements which make it possible to produce an even better mop of that type having advantages not possessed by my previous form.

It is the major object of my invention to provide a sturdy self-wringing mop which may be easily operated by the user'without the necessity of wetting his hands.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a mop which is compact and of a size permitting its use wherever the customary mop, which does not have the self-wringing feature, may be used.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a mop cloth for such a mop which may be easily and quickly changed, but which will be firmly attached to its holding member.

These and other objects Of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof, and from the drawings illustrating that form, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective utility view of my improved mop;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view taken at 2 in Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing the outer clevis, handle, pawl, and outer roller, with the other parts removed;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the inner clevis, wire mop holder, spring, yoke, and inner roller;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of these parts;

Fig. 7 is a partial View of the mop cloth and wire holder showing my improved method of attaching the cloth to the holder;

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation showing in full lines the mop in one of its stages in wringing the mop cloth, and in broken lines the terminal position of the mop in its wringing operations;

Figs. 9 and 10 are views in side elevation of the mop, partly broken away to illustrate the means for directing the mop cloth between the wringing rolls, and showing the mop at intermediate stages in the mop-wringing operation;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the mop cloth positioned between the rolls preparatory to the wringing operations;

,later.

Fig. 12 is a view in cross-section upon an enlarged scale taken on line lZ-l? of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral l 0 indicates a handle usually made of wood, upon which slides a sleeve H which is moved to effect the wringing of the mop. At the forward end of the handle H! (the right end in all of the figures of the drawings), is a pair of rollers l2 and I3, between which passes a mop cloth I4 carried by a pair of rods l5 and 15a attached to the sleeve ll, the motion of the sleeve-along the handle causing the cloth to be pulled between the rollers thus removing the surplus water from it. It is to be understood that the term mop cloth includes string type mops, and all materials natural or artificial, used in place of cloth.

The roller I2 is carried by a split clevis 5 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3), which is formed of two parallel V-shaped flat sections Illa and 5b, held in spaced relationship at their rear ends by a spacing plate l1, and at their forward or spread ends by side sections 30 and 39a. In practice, the clevis sections I611 and lfib and the side sections 39 and 36a. are all formed of one piece of fiat metal by appropriate bending. The clevis sections lea, and 15b are provided with rearwardly extendingparallel plates or strips which will be termed base plates I 8 and Na respectively, since they form the top and bottom members of the pawl enclosure to be described in detail The base plates l8 and l8a are offset toward each other in their rear portions so as to fit snugly over and partially around the forward end of the mop handle it to which they are securely fastened by any convenient means.

Extending rearwardly from the spacing plate H and between the base plates I 8 and 3a is a pawl supporting member l9 which is rigidly supported at its forward end by the spacing plate IT. The rear end of the pawl support I9 is bifurcated to permit a pawl 2i to be pivotally mounted therein. As will be seen best in Fig. 4, the height of the pawl support I9 is somewhat less than the space between the base plates l8 and 18a. The pawl support is spaced equally from the plates l8 and [8a to provide upper and lower longitudinal grooves, or spaces, which, with the space between the pawl 2| and the forward end of the handle l9, form a horizontal U-shaped opening or space 29. The pawl 21 is freely rotatable about its pivot and may flop from one base plate to the other by gravity whenever the mop is turned over.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the roller 13 is supported by a second V- shaped clevis 25 which is smaller both in thickness and width than clevis I6 and is mounted to slide between the clevis sections IGa and I6b. The two arms of the clevis 25 do not meet at the base of the V, as do the am of clevis I6, but are bent to form parallel sections which extend rearwardly from the base of the V and. at right angles to the base plates I8 and Isa. These rearwardly extending portions of the clevis 25 I term the side plates 22 and 2211., since they are spaced to cooperate with the base plates I8 and Isa to form a box-like enclosure for the pawl support I9 and its pawl 2|.

To guide the clevis 25 in its longitudinal rnovement I provide parallel grooves along the edges of the base plates I8 and IBa to accommodate the edges of the side plates 22 and 22a, and also provide grooves 3| in the side sections 30 and 39a of clevis It in which the parallel forward. ends of the clevis 25 ride and are held when in their most forward or extended position.

The forward end of the mop stick III, which is partially enclosed by the base plates I8 and I8a, is reduced slightly in diameter forming a shoulder adjacent the rear ends of the plates I8 and I811. A coil spring 25 surrounds this reduced portion of the mop stick with the upper or rear end of the spring bearing against said shoulder and its lower or forward end bearing against the rear ends of the side plates 22 and 22a. The spring 26 thus tends to urge the side plates and their clevis 25 forwardly at all times, which of course means that the roller I3 is always urged toward the roller I2. The tension on spring 26 is such that the rollers l2 and I3 are normally held together with sufiicient force to adequately wring out a mop cloth when it is pulled therebetween, but the rollerscan be separated without too much effort by pulling on the sleeve I I.

Near their forward ends, the rods I5 and H511, supporting the mop cloth I4, are bent outwardly and then forwardly again so that they follow the general contour of the clevises I6 and 25. As seen best in Fig. 5, the forward ends of the rods I5 and I5a are joined by a lateral rod section I5b, thus forming a frame on which the mop cloth I4 may be attached, and through which the clevis member 25 may move without hitting the rods. The object of this form of construction is to permit the second roller I3 to be moved away from the in this separated position to allow the forward ends of the rods I5 and I511, together with the mop cloth I4, to be inserted from below, between the rollers which are thereafter closed.

To accomplish these operations I provide a vertical slot 21 in each of the side plates 22 and 22a near their forward ends, through which I pass a yoke 28, which also passes through the U-shaped opening 20 between said side plates. The yoke 28 is slidably connected at its ends to the rods I5 and I5a, and since the rearward portions of the rods are parallel, they may be moved forwardly without moving the yoke 28. However, when the rods are moved rearwardly, their divergent sections engage the yoke 28 and move it rearwardly. Since the slots 2'! in the side plates 22 and 22a are fairly narrow, rearward movement of the yoke 28 carries the side plates rearwardly, Assuming the mop handle II) to be in a horizontal position, with the rod sections I51) and mop cloth I4 below the rollers I2 and I3, and hence with the yoke 28 in the lower arm of the U-shaped opening 20, when the yoke is moved rearwardly first roller I2, and while the rollers are thus separating the rollers I2 and I3.

toward the base of the opening 29, the pawl 2| will ride over the yoke and then drop down against the lower base plate I8, or I8a. If the spring 26 is then allowed to return the side plates 22 and 22a to their forward position, they will carry the yoke 28 with them, but the yoke instead of returning along the lower leg of the U-shaped opening 20 will be raised by the pawl and enter the upper leg of the opening 20, thus raising the rods I5 and I5a so that the mop cloth I4 will be inserted between the rollers I2 and I3 before they become engaged.

To provide rigidity for the structure, and to prevent any misalignment of the various members, I provide the side sections 30 and 30a of the clevis member IS with upper and lower grooves 32 to receive the rods I5 and I5a and also intermediate grooves 3| to receive the forward ends ofthe clevis 25. These grooves are preferably formed by providing the sections 30 and 38a with ofisets so that the grooves have their axes parallel to the mop handle I0. In this way when the sleeve II is pulled rearwardly along the handle I0, the rods I5 and I5a and the clevis 25 are likewise moved rearwardly andwithdrawn from the grooves in the portions 30 and 30a so that the sides of the clevis 25 will be completely unsupported, and the rods may be transferred. from one position to the other. As shown in Fig. 5, offsets are preferably formed at the forward end to the rods I5 and I5a, so that they will clear the clevis I6, since in this way the transfer of the rods from the lower to the upper position may be effected with less rearward movement of the rods.

To attach the mop cloth I I to the end of the rods I5 and lea, I prefer to use the arrangement illustrated in. Figs. 1, 2 and 7, where it will'be seen that the mop cloth is provided with pairs of snap fasteners 3I near its center, the individual members of each pair being aligned and separated a slight distance parallel to the axis of the mop cloth M. In this way, to install a mop cloth it is only necessary to hang the cloth over the end of the rod section I5b so that the members of each pair of fasteners may be snapped together as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The operation of my improved mop may be briefly described as follows: In utilizing the mop for cleaning floors, the cloth III will be pressed between the rollers I2 and I3 close to its end where it is looped about the rod section I51), as shown in Fig. 11. In this operative position of the mop, the outer end of the. clevis 25 will. be seated in the grooves 3I of the rigid clevis I6 while the rods I5-I 5a will be seated in the upper of the grooves 32 whereby the mop. parts engaging the cloth are held in the reliable supporting position.

When the mop is to be wrung, the sleeve II is pushed along the handle I0, thus slidably actuating the rods IE-Ifia through the terminal eyes of the yoke 28 in the manner illustrated in full lines in Fig. 8, Where the cloth is shown in an intermediate position in its passage between the rollers I2 and I3. The tension of the spring 26 exerted upon the side plates 22 supplies the pressure with which the roller I3 engages the cloth to wring the water therefrom. By continuing the outward movement of the rods I5-I5a the cloth is drawn entirely through the rollers where it will hang vertically, as seen in broken lines in Fig. 8. The sleeve is then retracted to return said rods and connected parts to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where the outwardly extending angular portions of said rod engage the eyes of the yoke 28. Further inward movement of the rods will carry with them the yoke 28 extending through slots 21 in the side plates 22 and thus the clevis 2 5 will be moved rearwardly to separate the rollers against the resistance of the spring 26.

Prior to the retraction of the clevis 25, the mop is bodily reversed to assume the position shown in Fig. 9 to cause the free end of the pawl 2| to drop by its gravity into line with the lower portion of the U-shaped space in which the yoke 23 is now located. The sleeve may now be drawn rearwardly carrying the rods, yoke and movable clevis in opposition to said spring and moving the yoke past the swingable end of the pawl and into the position, substantially as shown in Fig. 10. Upon the release of the sleeve, the spring 25 asserts itself to urge the clevis forwardly to close the roller l3 upon the roller l2. In such return movement of the parts the yoke 28 engages the inclined pawl 2| and is guided into the upper portion of said U-shaped space. Due to the connection of the rods i5i5a with the yoke, the rods are similarly swung upwardly at their forward ends to cause the extremity [5b of the rods to move outwardly and between the rollers simultaneously with the outward return movements of the clevis, carrying the end of the mop cloth beyond the line of engagement between the rollers and to be engaged thereby in the closing movements of the parts, as indicated in Fig. 11, where the mop is ready for mopping operations or for being passed through the rollers to wring the water therefrom.

It will be noted that at the end of its outward travel with the clevis 25, the member l5l5a is alternately received in the oppositely disposed grooves 32 where it is supported during the use of the mop and through which the rods pass when they are extended to pull the mop cloth between the rollers.

By forming the clevis iii of two sections a and IE1), which are separated so that the clevis and the rods l5 and 15a may pass between them, the rollers 52 and i3 may be placed closer to the lower end of the handle Ill, thus producing a mop which is but little bulkier than conventional mops, and as a result my mop may be used wherever the conventional mops may be used. Another advantage of this form of construction is that it permits of a stronger mop head which provides a minimum of opportunity for twisting, etc., to cause misalignment which might result in inoperativeness.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that modifications may be made in the form or arrangement of parts, and I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown except insofar as I am restricted by the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a split clevis; a roller supported by said clevis; a second clevis parallel to said split clevis and axially slidable therethrough; a roller supported by said second clevis; spring means operating on said second clevis and adapted to urge said second roller against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof, and slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; means for separating said rollers by the movement of said rod means including a yoke movable with said second clevis and slidably engaged with said rod means, and means for inserting said mop cloth between said rollers while said rollers are separated comprising a rearwardly extending support providing guidespaces on opposite sides thereof, and a rearwardly extending pawl secured to said support and arranged to guide said yoke into the respective said spaces.

2. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a split clevis; a roller supported by said clevis; a second clevis parallel to said split clevis and axially slidable therethrough; a rollersupported by said second clevis; spring means operating on said second clevis and adapted to urge said second roller against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof and slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; a yoke slidably attached to said rod means and adapted to be engaged thereby, said yoke being adapted to move said second clevis rearwardly against the urging of said spring to separate said rollers; a pawl support in said enclosure forming a U-shaped opening through which said yoke passes, said support being attached to said first clevis; and a pivoted pawl attached to said member and adapted to transfer said yoke from one arm of said U-shaped opening to the other arm of said opening whereby said rod means is actuated to pass the end of the mop cloth between the rollers to be engaged thereby in position to be pulled therebetween.

3. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a first roller; a split clevis supporting said first roller; base plates connecting said clevis to the forward end of said handle; a second roller; a second clevis parallel to said first clevis and axially slidable therethrough, and supporting said second roller; side plates attached to said second clevis and slidably mounted between said base plates to form therewith a box-like enclosure; spring means adapted to urge said side plates and said second clevis forwardly whereby said second roller is resiliently urged against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof. said rod means being slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; means for separating said rollers by the movement of said rod means; and means for inserting said mop cloth between said rollers while said rollers are separated.

4. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a first roller; a split clevis supporting said first roller; base plates connecting said clevis to the forward end of said handle; a second roller; a second clevis parallel to said first clevis and axially slidable therethrough, and supporting said second roller; side plates attached to said secondclevis and slidably mounted between said base plates to form therewith a box-like enclosure; spring means adapted to urge said side plates and said second clevis forwardly whereby said second roller is resiliently urged against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof, said rod means being slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; a yoke slidably attached to said rod means and adapted to be engaged thereby, said yoke being adapted to move said side plates rearwardly against the urging of said spring to separate said rollers; and means for inserting said mop cloth between said rollers while said rollers are separated comprising a rearwardly extending support in said enclosure spaced from said base plates to prcviderparallel spaces to receive said. o and a pawl pivotally mounted on said support and directed rearwardly to guide said yoke to enter said spaces.

5. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a first roller; a clevis supporting said first roller; base plates connecting said clevis to the forward end of said handle; a second roller; a second clevis parallel to said first clevis and axially slidable with respect thereto and supporting said second roller; side plates attached to said second clevis and slidably mounted between said base plates to form therewith a boxlike enclosure; spring means adapted to urge said side plates and said second clevis forwardly whereby said second roller is resiliently urged against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof, said rod means beings slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; means for separating said rollers by the movement of said rod means; a yoke slidably attached to said rod means and adapted to be engaged thereby; a pawl support within said box-like enclosure which forms a U-shaped opening therein through which said yoke passes; and a pivoted pawl attached to said pawl support and adapted to transfer said yoke from one arm of said U-shaped opening to the other arm thereof.

6. A self-wringing mop which includes: a handle; a first roller; a clevis supporting said roller; base plates connecting said clevis to the forward end of said handle; a second roller; a second clevis parallel to said first clevis and axially slidable with respect thereto, and supporting said second roller; side plates attached to said second clevis and slidably mounted with respect to said base plates; spring means adapted to urge said side plates and said second clevis forwardly whereby said second roller is resiliently urged against said first roller; rod means adapted to carry a mop cloth on one end thereof, and slidably mounted with respect to said rollers whereby said mop cloth may be pulled therebetween; means for separating said rollers by the movement of said rod means; a yoke slidably attached to said rod means and adapted to be engaged thereby; a pawl support between said base plates which forms a U-shaped opening therein through which said yoke passes; and a pivoted pawl attached to said pawl support and adapted to transfer said yoke from one arm of said U-shaped opening to the other arm thereof.

VIRGIL K. COOPER. 

